LANARKSHIRE’S Federation of Small Businesses – and 1100 members – have weighed into the upcoming council election battle.

With votes up for grabs, the organisation are warning candidates that local authorities like North and South Lanarkshire Council can take centre stage in an economic recovery.

And co-ordinated support for economic growth in towns like Wishaw and Motherwell must become a key priority for council departments, according to the business group.

Launching the local government manifesto ahead of the May 3 poll, the small business lobby group make the case for councils to redouble efforts across divisions to boost economies and support jobs.

The Lanarkshire branch chair Maureen Gormley said: “The recovery is everyone’s business. We must see all parts of all of our councils consider their role driving growth. Every department should be signed up to that goal, thinking about how their behaviour is impacting on local businesses and how they could improve.

“Local government are going to face some tough times over the next few years. But things will only get worse if we don’t get local economies moving again.

“In the short term, we need to see our local authority leaders, both members and officers, coming up with and driving local recovery plans which understand the importance of local growth.”

Other recommendations include a reiteration of the organisation’s previous call for councils to revamp their approach to local regulation; a call for them to use public procurement spend more effectively to develop local economies; and a recommendation to tackle youth unemployment by placing greater emphasis on creating jobs in local businesses.

Further, the FSB set out a number of steps which local authorities can take to help turn around Scotland’s town centres and high streets. It also pushes for planning reform which would see small businesses’ small scale applications processed more efficiently.

The FSB’s election manifesto ‘Taking centre stage: the role of local government in Scotland’s economic recovery’, says that councils can’t transform their local economies single-handedly, but businesses do expect them to do all they can to support growth.

With 20,000 members across Scotland, the FSB will also be holding a small number of events in the run-up to the May elections. It points out that 90,490 businesses in Scotland have fewer than 50 employees and these businesses employ 557,810 people. They also point out businesses with fewer than 50 employees account for 98 per cent of all Scottish businesses.